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The history of Euro Disco can be traced as far back as the 50s and 60s.
It’s recognised as being an off-shoot of American music trends going as far back as jazz, rock, soul, funk and disco. There were also influences coming from Europe it self, namely France and Italy. Another root was the Eurovision song contest particularly from the early 70s. ABBA could be considered the principal influence, with Waterloo being a classic example of the style known as Euro Pop containing a strong dance element. Using the dance mentality, a plethora of writers and producers saw their chance and went for it creating a new music industry on the continent. The term ‘Eurodisco’ was created by Germans taking Euro from Eurovision and Disco from discotheque around the same time the word disco appeared in America. It was targeted at non-UK acts. The first obvious band came from Germany called Boney M created by Frank Farian, with cheesy hits like Brown Girl In The Ring and Rasputin.
This opened the floodgates for many heavily produced ‘acts’ to promote their bouncy dance beats, easy on the ear catchy melodies often sung in pidgin English highlighted by songs such as Y Viva Espana, Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, Bimbo Jet and thumping synth - based tunes from producers like Giorgio Moroder.
This collection has a range of songs by established acts like American duo Sparks – The Number One song In Heaven - as they embraced the dance scene in 1979 and Moroder’s pounding UK debut single From Here To Eternity (UK#16) where synth became king. Another disco fave was Laura Brannigan’s Gloria (1982), but Self Control (1984) peppered with dirty guitar solos and infectious beat with immaculate production gave her a second UK top 10 hit.
Euro Disco wasn’t without some sophistication – check the dynamic range and production values of Propaganda’s monster P Machinery ( UK#50 / 1985), the follow up to their astonishing Duel. Another classic here is the spiky and wobbly Happy Station by Fun Fun.
American-Italian band Change from Bologna Italy stormed the charts with A Lover’s Holiday. Their third single Change Of Heart veered more towards soul and a greater emphasis on funk. The basslines say it all. Raymond Donnez aka Don Ray was a disco producer, arranger and performer. He cleverly brought cool sophistication to the genre with the lush production of Garden Of Love.
The best track here is the belting synth-driven classic Magic Fly by French band Space. It peaked in the UK at number 2 in August 1977.
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Euro Disco: 
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.